Federal Judge Blocks Trump Admin from Defunding “Sanctuary Cities”

Late Friday, September 15, a federal judge in Chicago issued a nationwide injunction that would bar the Trump administration’s attempt to defund “sanctuary cities.”

The term “sanctuary city” refers to the roughly 300 local governments nationwide that have chosen not to cooperate with federal law enforcement efforts against immigrant communities. Just last month a judge barred Texas from aiding the federal immigration efforts.

Friday’s ruling came from District Judge Harry Leinenweber who ruled on the principle that cutting funding for those cities protecting undocumented immigrants is unlawful and unconstitutional. Further adding that Attorney General Jeff Sessions didn’t possess the authority to impose such penalties.

In his 41-page decision, Leinenweber wanted to widen the scope of his ruling to a more national view, stating, “no reason to think that the legal issues present in this case are restricted to Chicago or that the statutory authority given to the attorney general would differ in another jurisdiction.”